Black and White Keys
by XxYesterdayTodayTomorrowxX
Summary: "His fingers glided over the black and white keys as if they had a mind of their own. His eyes were closed, his brows furrowed in concentration. He looked like an angel, just like his name implied. Albeit a dark one." Hades sent Nico to a school as a favor for Chiron. His job is to locate a demigod. While he was there, he sees a familiar face... T for future chapters and language.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! It's le moi with another story! Plot bunnies just come into my head, don't they?**

**The school in this story is vastly inspired from mine. It's almost identical, except for the name and the uniform. And a few small changes.**

**This is a Thalico. So if you're not okay with it, don't read it. I don't want flamers because they don't like the pairing. **

**_IMPORTANT!_**

**_BEFORE YOU ALL TELL ME THAT NICO IS GAY, THINK BACK A LITTLE. IT SAYS THAT NICO HAD A CRUSH ON PERCY. IT DIDN'T SAY THAT HE WASN'T INTERESTED IN GIRLS! SO PLEASE, CONSIDER THAT BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING._**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, or the school. But I own the name of the school, the uniform, and the plot.**

**This takes place three years after the Giant war. If you are confused about the ages, feel free to PM me.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

"I'm sorry father, but I think I heard you wrong."

"No, Nico, you heard me loud and clear," Hades told his son.

"So you're telling me that I am to go to Pacific Bay Academy to—"

"Go to school, yes," Hades cut off.

"But-But sir, that's an _all girl's school_!" sixteen year old Nico di Angelo protested.

"I am aware. But did you perhaps forget the fact that they accept boys as well to learn music and slash or dance?"

"I am _not_ dancing. Not in a million years," the teen grumbled.

"You aren't going to dance, boy. You are going there to learn music," his father said firmly.

"I thought you had to _know_ how to play an instrument before you can get accepted there," Nico said.

"And you do. Did you perhaps forget that your mother taught you how to play the piano when you were younger?" his father retorted. "And have I not heard you play every other night?"

"Yes, but—Wait, you heard me play?!"

Hades nodded. "Last time I heard you was last month. You were out of practice, boy. Now, you do not have a choice but to go. There will be an unclaimed demigod as one of your lowerclassmen. You will go to school, find the demigod, and bring him or her to camp."

"And why can't the satyrs do that?" Nico asked, playing his last card.

"Because they are busy. They cannot be at two schools at once. And I told Chiron you would help because after all that centaur has done for you it was the least I could do. Go, Nico. And by the way, it is a part-boarding school. Those who wish to live at school will live on campus. And you will do exactly that. Pack your bags," Hades said.

Nico bowed to his father and shadow travelled to his cabin. Great. Now he had to go to school and live there during the weekdays! How could it get any worse?

* * *

Nico stared at the uniform in distaste.

What is this piece of crap?! White collared shirt, black pants, navy blue sweater, white socks, and black shoes? Not even half of that is black! It definitely ruins his image. I mean, why would you need to wear white socks? It's not like anyone's gonna see it under his pants... Wow, that sounded wrong...

Quickly, he changed into it and picked up his bag, both the backpack and the luggage, and walked out of the Hades cabin.

He joined Argus on the outskirts of camp and after a brief greeting, he climbed into the van.

* * *

Climbing out of the van, Nico took in his surroundings. The school was old fashioned. Old fashioned and grand. White marble pillars adorned the main entrance, big wooden double doors were positioned behind them. But there still is a more modernized part of the school, with huge windows and metal frames. With the size of those windows, Nico was pretty sure there would be little to no shadows within the modernized part.

"Hey, never seen you around before. Your first year here?" a boy with wavy blonde hair and green eyes asked him.

Nico whirled around and faced the boy. "Um, yeah. First year. Mind telling me why your first day of school is on a Sunday?" he asked.

"You live on campus, right?" The boy asked.

"Yeah."

"So, they introduce us to the dorms, you settle in, then you explore the school. Not like most of us will need it. We've been here for three years now," the boy said. "Want a tour of the school when you're done?"

"Sure," Nico said and shrugged.

"Cool. Consider me your first friend here. Eric. Eric Foster," the boy said, holding out his hand.

"Nico di Angelo," Nico replied, shaking the outstreched hand.

* * *

"What do you think of the school so far?" Eric asked.

Nico shrugged. "It's not as bad as I thought."

"So, where did you go to last year?"

"Well, I've been homeschooled for the past six years, and the last school I've been to before that was a military school in some castle with a crazy principal. So, yeah. I was homeschooled," Nico said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Whoa. Well, I hope you have better luck here. Why are you here? Music or dance, I mean."

"Music. I won't ever be caught dead dancing. Not since the last school," Nico said.

"Too bad, cause we do still have homecoming, you know? The girls usually ask guys from the school next door. It's an all boys school so I guess it evens it out. What instrument do you play?" Eric asked.

"Damn, Foster! Are you usually this nosy?" Nico retaliated.

"Yeah, you could say that. So, what instrument do you play?"

"Piano. How about you? Music or dance?" Nico asked back. He's not going to lose to some guy he just met.

"Music, duh! The only dance availlable here is ballet. I'm not wearing tights!" Eric huffed.

"Huh. What instrument?" Nico asked. He was glad Hades didn't make him dance.

"Me? I play the cello," Eric answered. "I used to watch my cousin play it, and wanted to try it out myself..." he ranted on. But Nico wasn't listening. Because the spotted a mop of black hair. Familiar black hair. For a moment he saw a gleaming circlet on it too. It looked almost like... No, it couldn't be.

"Hey, what are you staring at?" Eric asked.

"That girl over there. Who is she?" Nico asked back, squinting his eyes.

"Oh! I see you've managed to spot—"

"Thalia? Pinecone Face?" Nico asked, approaching the girl.

The girl turned her head at the voice and Nico found himself looking at a pair of blue eyes.

"Nico? What are you doing here?"

* * *

**So, basically, I have described my school in this story. The boys' uniform is practically the same thing as the boys in my school but the girls' uniform will be a little different.**

**Yes, I go to an all girls school. Yes, there are some boys learning music and ballet there. Yes, my school is old fashioned. No, it is not called Pacific Bay Academy. Yes, it is a part boarding school. I just thought it'll be fun to write about. :)**

**Waddaya think? Leave me your feedback in a review!**

**~XxYesterdayTodayTomorrowxX**

**P.S. I make covers for stories. See my profile or PM me for details.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I felt like updating today. Don't expect a fast update like this often though...**

**_FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T READ MY IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE LAST CHAPTER, GO READ IT NOW. _**

**Anyways, the title of this story is a tad long. So let's all refer to it as 'Keys' from now on. Good? Great!**

**Disclaimer: **

**Me: Nico! Do the disclaimer!**

**Nico: You're not the boss of meh! No, you're not!**

**Me: Eric! Do the disclaimer!**

**Eric: What he said.**

**Me: I created you. Therefore, I'm your boss. HAHAHA!**

**Nico: She's got you there.**

**Eric: Ugh, fine! Jenifer (AKA XxYTTxX) does not own PJO. Happy?**

**Me: Good boy! *pats head***

**(I like doing that...)**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

"Nico? What are you doing here?" Thalia exclaimed, and tackle-hugged the boy in front of her. Nico stumbled and tried not to fall over. Behind her, the Huntresses grimaced. Eric looked at Nico with an expression that said, 'Lucky bastard...'

"Surprise...?" Nico said, but it sounded more like a question.

"Ew! Who is that _male_?!" Phoebe hissed.

"This _male_, Phoebe, is Nico di Angelo," Thalia answered.

"Oh, it's that son of—" one of the newer Huntresses started, but then a hand clamped over her mouth.

"There is a mortal around!" Phoebe hissed.

"You're okay? No injuries? Not half-dead?" Thalia asked, ignoring her... Other friends.

Nico looked at her incredulously. "No? Why?"

"Good," Thalia said. Then she slapped him, hard.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for, woman?!" Nico exclaimed. Eric looked like he was holding in laughter. The Huntresses cheered.

"You idiot!" Thalia screamed, landing a punch on his chest.

"What? What did I do now?"

"I could have handled it alone! Then you just had to barge in, get hit, then run away like nothing happened! Do you know how worried I was?!" she yelled, hitting his chest over and over.

"Well, firstly, you can thank me for saving your life," Nico said. "Then you can stop hitting me. You know what? Stop hitting me first."

Thalia stopped punching him and glared up at him. The fact that he was taller than her bothered her because he used to be so much shorter.

"Now you can thank me for saving your life. Because, admit it, if I hadn't come, you would be dead."

She just glared at him.

"Come on, say thank you, Thalia," Nico urged.

"Thank you, Thalia," the girl retorted.

"Very funny. Now if you desire to hug my sheer awesomeness, go ahead. Don't tell me you didn't miss me," the son of Hades said cheekily. What he didn't expect was for her to actually do it.

"My gods, I missed you," she said.

"You saw me three weeks ago," Nico replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, but you expect me to go three weeks without seeing my best friend?"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Best friend? And what's this about saving her life?" Eric spoke up. Nico whipped his head around, forgetting that he was there.

"Yeah, I met this guy here when he was ten, and we grew close these past three years," Thalia said, jabbing her thumb in Nico's direction. "Back then he was this hyper kid who was absolutely obsessed with Mythomagic."

"The hell is Mythomagic?" Eric asked.

"It's this card game. Sort of like Pokémon cards," Nico answered. He shrugged. "I outgrew it."

"Okay, so you knew each other and you never told me?" Eric asked Thalia.

Thalia shrugged. "We only talked twice. You never asked." Then, she turned to Nico.

"What are you doing here?"

"Dad wanted me to go here to fill in for some of Grover's... friends, and he said I was getting out of practice at the piano," Nico answered. She stared at him, dumbfounded.

"You play piano?" she asked.

"No. I dance ballet. Of course I do! Why else would I be here, studying music, polishing my piano skills?" Nico answered. "And I play from time to time in Will's cabin. Seriously, no one told you?"

"Why would I be asking you if I did?" Thalia retorted.

"Good point."

* * *

The next day, classes started. Everyone was clamoring all over the clasroom, getting re-acquainted with each other. The boys were in one corner, slapping each other's backs and acting stupid. Well, the boys except Nico. He was sitting behind his desk, bored out of his mind. He would give anything for Thalia to be there, but she wasn't in his homeroom. Heck, the people in his homeroom were only the ones who were studying either music or dance! Of course Thalia wouldn't be there!

At exactly eight thirty, the teacher called out, "Good morning class!"

Everyone scrambled to their desks.

"I am Ms. Martins. As you all know, today, we will go down to the music room to show the class what we can do. So, if you will follow me, quietly please," the teacher said, and opened the door. The class filed out after her. Nico lagged in the back.

Nico felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Hey, Nico!" Eric whispered.

"What?" Nico whispered back.

"Join us?" he asked, motioning to three other boys about two or three people in front of them

Nico shrugged. "Why not?"

He followed Eric to the middle of the sea of students.

"Hey. The name's Mason. Mason Adler," a boy with curly black hair and pale blue eyes said. "These two idiots here are Tobias Haden and Peter Lai." He pointed to a boy with red hair and green eyes and an Asian looking boy.

"Nico di Angelo," Nico told them.

"Music or dance?" Peter asked.

"Music. And before any of you ask, piano," Nico answered. "How about you guys?"

"Peter plays the flute. Tobias and I are in dance," Mason said.

Nico held back his remarks. No, he will not tease his newly made acquaintances for wearing tights.

"Cool," he said, playing it safe.

"I like this guy already," Mason said. "A lot of people would have teased us."

"Oh, believe me. I almost did," Nico said, smirking.

* * *

"Musicians on the left side, dancers on the right," Ms. Martins said.

Nico joined the musicians by the grand piano.

"Okay, musicians, you will each play a song that means something to you. No matter what the reason. Dancers, you will try to dance to the music. You will do it in pairs. No, you do not get to choose your pairs," the teacher said, earning groans from all over the room.

The teacher started calling pairs. Two by two, students walked up to the stage and performed as best as they could. The musicians stated what each song means to them. But Nico wasn't paying attention. He was thinking of an excuse for the song he wanted to play. He wouldn't tell a bunch of strangers that his late mom used to play him this song before he slept. He just couldn't. Heck, he barely told his friends any of his personal life!

"Nico di Angelo and Abigail Cooper," Ms. Martins stated.

Nico internally panicked. He racked his brain to find a valid excuse, but couldn't.

"So, Nico, what does the song you will play mean to you?" Ms. Martins asked.

"It was the first song I ever played," Nico blurted out.

Ms. Martins nodded, buying the excuse. The boy mentally patted himself on the back.

He sat down on the piano and looked at his partner, a girl with medium length wavy brown hair and hazel eyes. She nodded at him.

Nico closed his eyes, took a deep breath and started playing.

He remembered his mom playing this when he was little. He remembered the serene look on her face and the smile that seemed permanently etched. He remembered looking up at her with big, wondering eyes.

* * *

_"Mama! Mama! Play something!" little Nico said_

_His mother looked at him adoringly. "Of course. Which song do you want me to play?" she asked him and handed him a bag of sheet music._

_He randomly pulled out a few pages and held them up._

_His mother smiled at him. "Fur Elise? Good choice," she said._

_Her fingers flew over the piano keys, her eyes were closed and she played the beautiful melody effortlessly. Nico looked up at her, his eyes filled with amazement at his wonderful mother._

_He then asked her to teach him. Everyday, they would practice. Everyday, he would improve. One day, he told her, "Someday, I'm going to play a difficult song, and I'll learn it myself. I'll show it to you, mama! I can do it!"_

_His mother smiled tenderly at him. "I'm sure you can," she said._

_She died before she could hear him play._

* * *

Nico played the last note, letting it resonate throughout the room. He hadn't been watching his partner dance, but he didn't care.

Because it was like he had his mother back. He could hear her play the song in his head. He remembered how she taught him with patience. Always with the same smile on her face...

The room broke into applause, slightly louder than it did for the others. He couldn't have been that good, right? Nico felt something slip down his cheek. Hastily, he wiped it away. He wouldn't let them see his tears.

"That was the first song you ever played? Are you sure? It's not easy," Ms. Martins said.

"I had a very good teacher," Nico answered before going back to his side of the room.

* * *

**How was it? **

**Hey, should Abigail be a major or minor character? I can't decide. I just wrote down her name spur of the moment.**

**Anyways! Happy new year to all! I hope you have a nice end/start of the year!**

**Please leave your feedback in a review!**

**~XxYesterdayTodayTomorrowxX (I will now refer to myself as XxYTTxX)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! I'm back! I told you guys I didn't have an updating schedule...**

**I'm bored, but hyper cause I just ate some layered yogurt glassed dessert or whatever, so I thought of all my stories, and you lucky peeps! I decided to update this one today! Don't worry, to those of you who read 'The Blessing of Pain'! I posted a companion fic! It's called 'Heartache'. Go check it out! And the sixth chapter was posted yesterday.**

**Without further ado, on to the chapter!**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: Abigail! Do the disclaimer!**

**Abby: Why?**

**Me: Cause I asked you to. Now do you want me to sic the outside spirits on you? (Read 'The Spirits of Home')**

**Abby: Jeni (XxYTTxX) doesn't own PJO, the school, or anything PJO or Greek Mythology related. She owns the name of the school, the plot, the OCs, including me, and the uniform-ish.**

**Me: *Smirks* Thought so.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

"You were wonderful!" Nico heard the unmistakable voice of Eric's exclaim behind him.

He turned around only to see Eric twirling Abigail around, a look of absolute pride in his eyes.

"Stop it with all the mushy stuff! We are in the middle of class, and you make all us single people jealous!" Tobias chastised, slapping the blonde upside the head.

So they were dating.

"Nico! Come here, man! I have to introduce you!" Eric beckoned.

Nico slowly walked over, not really wanting to talk to anyone.

"This is Abby Cooper, my girlfriend. We kinda got together about a month after I got over Thalia," Eric said.

Nico snickered despite himself. It wasn't like him to show this much emotion, but the thought of someone crushing on Thalia was hilarious. Especially someone who didn't know what she was capable of. But if someone openly flirted with his best friend in front of him, he would have to hold himself back from beating them up. Not that Thalia wouldn't be able to do it herself...

Of course, it wasn't the poor guy's fault. He didn't know that Thalia is an immortal maiden.

"Nice to meet you, Nico. Your playing was amazing, by the way," Abby told Nico.

"Thank you," Nico said. He wasn't going to start complimeting someone on something he didn't even see, so he kept quiet for that part.

"And Eric. I thought I told you to stop bringing up the fact that you had a crush on another girl in front of me!" she said and slapped her boyfriend's arm. Hard.

"Yes, but this is the best friend! I think he deserves to know," Eric said defensively.

Nico tuned out the rest of the conversation, thinking of a hundred and one ways Thalia might kill Eric with if he ever confessed.

* * *

"Hey, Nico, we're going to Starbuck's. Wanna come?" Tobias asked. He made it his objective to get Nico to crack as soon as he discovered that they shared the same dorm room.

The son of Hades shrugged. "Why not? I've got nothing to do, anyway," he said. Hey, a demigod has gotta have friends in the mortal world, right? Or they might burst.

"Cool. Go change out of that uniform and meet us at the main entrance in ten minutes. Starting, now!" Toby exclaimed. "Dibs on the bathroom!"

Nico calmly walked over to his bags and pulled out his usual attire. After changing, he slid on his skull ring, put on his aviator's jacket, which, by the way, was the right size now, and slipped a few daggers in the pockets Persephone sewed on for him. Yes, he is finally getting along with his stepmother. Even a little too much. He strolled to the main entrance, only to find four very annoyed boys waiting for him.

"Where were you, slowpoke?" Peter deadpanned.

"Forget about where he was! Who are you and what have you done to Nico di Angelo?! You look like some emo kid!" Mason exclaimed.

"Hey! There's the Death Breath we all know and love!" a feminine voice piped up.

"Wait, this is the real you?" Eric asked incredulously.

"Yes. Are you gonna diss me? Shun me?" Nico snapped with his usual snark.

"Chill, man. It's just... Unexpected," Tobias said.

"Well, what did you expect?" Nico asked.

"T-shirt and jeans, I guess," the redhead mumbled.

"In case you haven't noticed, I am wearing a T-shirt and jeans," the son of Hades stated bluntly.

Beside him, Thalia snorted.

"Come on. We have to go if we want to get back before dinner."

* * *

"Who are you, what are you, where do you come from?" Peter asked as soon as they sat on their table in the café.

"I'm Nico di Angelo, I'm human, what kind of question is that? And I'm from Washington," Nico answered bluntly. He wasn't lying or anything. He was _half_ human, and his family _did_ move to Washington when he was younger.

"Nosy, much?" Thalia whispered. Nico smirked and snorted.

An awkward silence passed through the teenagers. The air was so tense you almost could cut it with a knife.

"Oookkaaayyy... Let's get out of here," Eric said, standing up.

* * *

A shrill scream of pain resonated throughout the girls' dormitories. All the girls bolted out of their dorm rooms and ran to the source of the noise.

At the bottom of the stairs lay a brown haired girl. Tears were streaming down her face and she was tightly clutching her ankle in pure agony.

Thalia made the first move. She carefully walked down the newly waxed stairs and knelt in front of the girl.

"You okay?" she asked.

The girl shook her head.

"Here. I'll help you up."

Thalia slung the girl's arms around her shoulders and lifted her up. The girl winced and her foot went slack.

"Let's take you to the nurse's," Thalia said.

The girl nodded and exhaled deeply.

"What's your name?" the daughter of Zeus asked.

The brunette opened her mouth and breathed out, "Abigail. Abby Cooper."

* * *

**And vat shalt Thalia do?**

**Thou shalt all find out in za next update!**

**What did y'all think? Leave thy feedback in a review!**

**Until next time!**

**~XxYTTxX**


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